Title: Combined Cyber and Physical Attacks on the Maritime Transportation System

Abstract:

For years, there has been discussion about physical security in the maritime transportation system (MTS). That discussion has led to standards, regulations, etc. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in cyber security in the MTS that has led to discussions about best practices for cyber security. It is likely that many future attacks on the MTS (and other systems) will be multi-modal, including both a cyber and a physical component. As a simple example, hacking into security cameras at a port increases vulnerability to a physical intrusion. Thus, a cyber attack could be a precursor to a physical attack, and in fact the opposite could also be the case. This talk will present scenarios of combined cyber and physical attacks gleaned from interaction with a great many subject matter experts, and will describe ways to understand their likelihood based on ease of attack and seriousness of potential consequences.

Bio:

FRED S. ROBERTS is a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University, where he is a member of seven graduate faculties, in Computer Science, Mathematics, Operations Research, Computational Molecular Biology, BioMaPS (Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program at the Interface between the Biological, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences), Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Education.

He has served as Director of CCICADA since its founding in 2009, and previously served as Director of the Center for Dynamic Data Analysis (DyDAn), the predecessor DHS University Center of Excellence to CCICADA, from 2006 to 2009. CCICADA is a US Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence that uses advanced data analysis and systems to address natural and manmade threats to the safety and security of the American people.

In January 1996, Roberts was named the Director of DIMACS, the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. DIMACS, with administrative offices at Rutgers, was founded as one of the original National Science Foundation Science and Technology Centers and is a joint academic-industry partnership with 15 partner organizations and over 325 affiliated scientists. Roberts served as DIMACS Director until September 2011, when he became Emeritus Director and Senior Advisor. He led DIMACS to an international reputation in such areas as mathematical epidemiology, computational molecular biology, algorithmic decision making, and data science in homeland security, in addition to its traditional stature in discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science.

Roberts is a member of the Board on Mathematical Sciences and Applications, and is a former member of National Science Foundation advisory committees on International Research and Education, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Environmental Research and Education. He is on the Steering Committee for the World-Wide Program Mathematics of Planet Earth, on the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and co-chairs the NJ Universities Homeland Security Research Consortium. He has served on the Secretary’s epidemiology modeling group at the Department of Health and Human Services, and currently serves on the NJ Governor’s Health Emergency Preparedness Advisory Council and the NJ Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force Planning Group.

Roberts is the author of four books, editor of 21 additional books, and author of more than 175 scientific articles. His work has been translated into Russian and Chinese and deals with a wide variety of topics, including mathematical models addressing problems of homeland security, energy modeling, decision making, communication networks, mathematical psychology, measurement, epidemiology, computational biology, sustainability, and precollege education.

Among Dr. Roberts’ current homeland security research interests are stadium security, resource allocation (e.g., for Coast Guard boats and aircraft), container inspection at ports, sensor management for nuclear detection, early warning of disease outbreaks and bioterrorist events, border security, behavioral responses to natural and human-caused disasters, the connection between security and economic activity, and the homeland security aspects of global environmental change.

Among his honors and awards, Professor Roberts has been the recipient of a University Research Initiative Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Commemorative Medal of the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists, and the Distinguished Service Award of the Association of Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. He also received the NSF Science and Technology Centers Pioneer Award in a ceremony at NSF and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Paris-Dauphine.